Career Changes

Before having children, I was a civil servant.

There seem to be two types of civil servants - underworked and overpaid, and overworked and underpaid. I was the latter.

I dreaded going to work. It was a dead end job. I had ended up in a situation where there was no way to move up. I wasn't the only one in that situation. Morale was so low that many of us worried about a mass exodus. And many of us were burnt out.

The only thing that kept me going the last couple of years was knowing that it wouldn't be long before I could say goodbye for good.

Carlos and I, through our many discussions on the subject, had long ago decided that I would stay home and raise our children rather than putting them in daycare. Fortunately the Canadian Government allows their employees to take up to 5 years leave without pay to stay home with their children. Fancy that!

So after my maternity leave ended, my leave without pay (called "Care and Nurturing Leave") started. By the time I go back in the Spring of 2011, I will have been out of the workforce for 6 years. This scares the bejeezus out of me!

Don't get me wrong...I don't now, nor will I ever, regret taking the time out of my career to raise my boys. It has been a wonderful experience so far, although not without it's stresses due to Logan's ongoing health issues. However, my job was in the technology field. Yikes is right!

Technology changes so fast and often, I'm not sure what my qualifications will be when I start work again. I mean, I already feel I've lost most of my geekness in the past two years. And I still have 4 more years to go!

To add to this dark cloud hanging over my head, I was so unhappy doing what I was doing that I don't even know if I even want to return to that field of work. But what else can I do?

I guess I have 4 years to figure this out. In the meatime, I will just enjoy being a stay at home mom - the best job (and most challenging, in my opinion) in the world!